Can I have some milk?
by Monolaymoo
Summary: Easiest request in the world. There's no way to screw that up right? Third Christmas fic and like my last one, has two alternate ending but now it depends on your answer to Tenma's request from Chapter. 2
1. Chapter 1

Merry Christmas everyone! This is another Christmas fic I wrote as a gift for my friends here but assuming you all read my first Inazuma Christmas fic, this may turn out for better or for worse. Out preference, I prefer the worst. :D

* * *

"_Can I have some milk?"_

That must have been the most simple, easiest request by a child in the world! What could possibly happen to screw that up?

Somehow, Tsurugi had managed to find a way to that successfully.

First, this entire mess started about nine hours ago…

-Nine hours ago-

"_We're sorry. I don't think we can make it again this year."_

Tsurugi sighed when he heard that same line again. This wasn't the first time they back out from them for Christmas. Ever since oniisan's accident, they had been working hard day and night, spending most of their time in meetings.

Needless to say, the relationship between parent and child became heavily strained as a direct result to the point that he was starting get used to not having parents around for anything from cleaning the house to cooking and other things.

_*ding ding~*_

Like taking packages and mail for instance.

"Sign here and here." The man said. Tsurugi nodded and signed to where the mail carrier had designated him to before picking up the small wooden box.

"Thanks and Merry Christmas!" he bided away. Tsurugi just rolled his eyes and slammed the door shut. He took a look at the card pasted on the box and read it.

"Merry Chirstmas, Mr. and Mrs. Tsurugi! Please think about our proposal. We hope you accept it." Tsurugi grumbled. It was just another bribe from some company for his parents. He didn't see any reason why not to rip it open to see what was inside. He opened it up and there was what looked like a bottle inside which was wrapped entirely in paper.

"What the heck?" he wondered. He just shrugged and stuck it in the fridge.

It was almost time to visit oniisan. He grabbed his jacket and left. He strolled down the street pavement, looking around. A bit of feathery white snow scattered around but not single a flake in sight.

Oh well, that was a good thing because he actually hated it when snowed. It would be far too cold if it did. He passed by the few parents, couples, and children toddling around before arriving at the river. He took only two steps passed the bridge when he heard shouting his name. He sighed, why hadn't he left with everyone else?

"Tsurugi!" Tenma said with zeal. "Hey, Tsurugi!"

He ran overtook the striker, who stopped suddenly in surprise but remain as composed as ever.

"Tsurugi! I thought that was you! I can't believe you're still here!" Tenma greeted happily. Tsurugi sighed heavy heartedly.

"I could say the same for you. I thought you lived in Okinawana. Shouldn't you be spending Christmas there?" he asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I guess I should be." Tenma answered. "But here I am! So what are you up to?"

"Just visiting oniisan." He said.

"Can I come?" Tenma asked. "Everyone else went out of town for the holidays so I'm really bored."

"Nah." Tsurugi declined. "If you're bored, why don't you go play soccer with your pet or something"

"Uh? Okay." Tenma said before leaving. "Merry Christmas, Tsurugi!"

"Yeah, yeah." He waved off before heading to visit his brother.


	2. Chapter 2

"What? Why didn't you accept?" Yuuichi asked with disgruntled tone.

"Because he annoys me." Tsurugi answered bluntly.

"You do know I'm not going to be home for Christmas, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, because of the operation, I know." Tsurugi replied tiredly as he anticipated another lecture coming.

"Well, since both you and Tenma don't have anyone to spend Christmas with, why don't you invite him over?" Yuuichi suggested. "It's a lot better than being alone for the rest of the day."

"Um, because he annoys me." Tsurugi repeated with a hint of frustration.

"I mean for him. We both know how much Tenma hates being alone sometimes." Yuuichi cleared up but his brother still remained steadfast with his decision.

"Besides, he can just spend Christmas with Aki." Tsurugi said.

"Aki?" Yuuichi asked.

"His cousin." Tsurugi answered. "Anyway, it's getting late and I still have grocery to buy for dinner."

"Kyousuke, before you go, can I just say one last thing?" Yuuichi said. "It's Christmas. Can't you just make an exception for him this once?"

Tsurugi groaned and shook his head. "Nope, never going to happen." He said.

Did it really matter that much? Anyway, Tenma had her and that stupid dog of his to keep him happy so there was no need for him to waste his Christmas in a cramp apartment room (he had been there only once though he had been forced to go) with a lazy, smelly dog and an already hyper Tenma on sugar rush and Christmas rush all at the same time. He would most likely end up screaming and making a scene from the maddening chaos.

He nodded to himself, having reasserted himself and his assessment as correct.

He exited the market, pleased with how much he had saved. The Christmas sale was really the only good thing about this day. The prices were a steal and they were practically giving everything away and, a little embarrassingly, he had found himself so caught up with it, for a moment, he actually became one of those housewives who mobbed the stores rabidly to nothing while trying to get all that they could get their hands on. He even picked a fight or two with some women over some clothes and food.

"I hope no one saw me like that…" he said to himself, stopping as the light turned green.

As the cars drove by, he could see the happy families chatting away inside their vehicles. Honestly, shouldn't they be watching the road other cars? And then, what coincidence.

Right across the street was Tenma. He grumbled disappointedly but then he realized that Tenma hadn't noticed him at all. He wasn't even looking at his direction. He was gazing intently into a shop through its window which made Tsurugi a bit curious because only soccer had the power to entice him so much.

He looked at the shop and realized that it was a pet shop. Why would Tenma be looking into a pet shop? He was probably looking for a gift to get his dog. He loved it so much, it sounded like something he would do.

The lights turned red and walked over to Tenma's direction because unfortunately, it was the fastest way home and it was really late and he was very hungry.

He walked by as fast as he could, melding within the crowds so that he wouldn't notice him.

He turned to check if Tenma had noticed but luckily he remained affixed towards the shop. He sighed happily as he turned away from Tenma but then he saw something he never thought he would see.

A tear? Tenma was crying?

Tenma turned and left in the opposite direction but now Tsurugi was troubled. He walked back over and saw through the window. There wasn't much there. All there were were pets up for sale, all of which were puppies but one looked strange. It was white with patches of blue fur. It looked exactly like Tenma's dog.

A tap on his shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts and he turned to see an elderly man.

"Do you want buy one, sonny?" he asked him but Tsurugi shook his head.

"Sorry, no. I'm not an animal person." He answered.

"Well, I'm sort of glad actually." He said, pointing towards the peculiar puppy as it played with soccer ball like chew toy. "See that one there? I think another young lad is interested in buying the little thing."

"Does he have brown, swirly hair, is obsessive with soccer and owns a dog just like it?" he 'guessed'.

"Well, all accept the last part." The man answered in remorse. "Unfortunately, everything has its time and unfortunately, that one reached it just a few days ago."

"H-Huh?" he asked.

"Parasites. Real terrible. There wasn't anything to be done to save him cept' to put the unfortunate thing down to end his misery." He said. "The poor boy's still having it rough. You know, he came by just last week and bought that chew toy that little one is biting down right there as a gift for his dog. After what happened, he decided to give it to him since, with the resemblance and everything."

Tsurugi stared right at the puppy as tried climbing on the ball, only to fall over. It whined a bit but then it stretched its legs with a yawn and just curled over and began sleeping.

"…"

* * *

Tenma looked at the collar he held in his hands. Aki-nee was gone, his parents had cancelled on him right at the last minute because of a storm that disrupted their flight, and now…

He sobbed. This was the worst Chirstmas ever. He was alone and his closest companion was gone.

He held his collar close when he heard the doorbell ring. There wasn't anyone here anymore so it could only have been for him.

He got up, the collar still at hand and went down the stairs. He was only some feet away when he heard some cursing and someone telling something to stay still before yelling out in pain that it had bit him followed by another yelp and more cursing.

Tenma wasn't sure if he should even go now but he crept to the door and peeked out the peep hole and saw Tsurugi but he looked really angry and it looked like he was fighting with something.

He wiped a tear and opened the door.

"Tsurugi? What are you-"

To his shock, something jumped out and scrambled behind his legs. Tsurugi grumbled, staring angrily at the thing after it had…

"Hey…" he greeted. "It got out and I tried putting it back in and…do you have an extra shirt?"

Tenma was confused at first but then he got it and began chuckling a bit when Tsurugi glared at him, he stopped, picked the puppy and took him upstairs before noticing that it had something on it that was troubling it.

"Why is it covered in ribbons?" Tenma said rather angrily. If this was some jerk's idea of a joke, it's not funny. It was making the poor thing trip and fall around its own legs.

"It was a gift." Tsurugi answered in a low tone, surprising Tenma. "It didn't want to stay in the cage so I tried putting a ribbon on it but then we got into a fight."

"A fight? How do you fight a puppy?" Tenma wondered playfully as he untangled the string.

"Ugh…" he said. As he looked through Tenma's shirts, all of which were too small too fit him.

Tenma finally managed to free the puppy and set it down but once he did, it ran over and began gnawing Tsurugi shoe, furthering his anger.

"Go away!" he shooed but the puppy growled back. Tenma sighed.

"Stop! Come here!"

The puppy stopped and happily went over to Tenma who smiled and rewarded him with a pat.

"Really? You listen to him?!" Tsurugi said in shock.

"You just have to be nicer to him." Tenma said. Tsurugi sighed, giving the dog a dirty look which the puppy gladly returned.

Tenma hadn't noticed from the darkness and directed the dog to enter. "Here! Get in the box!"

The pup barked and ran inside, making Tsurugi even angrier. He had been trying to get in there from the moment he got it but it just kept nipping at him.

"I'm going home. Night, Tenma." He said.

"Wait, you're leaving already?" Tenma asked, picking up the box with the pup still inside. "Can I come with you?"


	3. If you said 'No'

"Oh, okay." Tenma said with optimism. He didn't want Tsurugi to notice how down he felt but he looked at the puppy and it was enough to make him smile.

"And thanks for the puppy! Really!" he said happily.

Tsurugi just nodded. "It's fine. See you."

Tenma nodded and went back inside. He went back in, looking back as he saw Tsurugi off. He put the cage down and let puppy out.

"What should I call you?" Tenma wondered. The pup barked and started running around Tenma's feet. He laughed at the puppy's rambunctious nature and picked it up to it bring upstairs but as soon as he did it, the puppy gave a few happy barks before yawning and falling asleep, all curled up in his arms.

"I'll think about it tomorrow. You must be tired, poor thing." He said.

Once he got to his room, he wasn't sure but he put the puppy on Sasuke's old bed. He began sleeping so soundly in that he couldn't help but remember his old pet but Sasuke wouldn't want him to be sad! Especially not this time of the year!

He tucked it in Sasuke's old blanket before going to bed himself.

…..*thunk!*

"..ngn.." Tenma moaned as he woke up. What time was it?

*thump!*

As he heard that, he got up, a little sleepy. That's odd. No one should be here now. What was all that noise?

He got up from bed with a torch and went down the stairs. He looked around with the light open but there was nothing around but the place did look a bit different.

He went to the kitchen and noticed that the chairs were a bit out of place.

"Strange. I'm sure I fixed those a while ago." Tenma wondered. He took a step inside to clean it put it back when he some a creak. Naturally he was surprised and turned and he saw a man standing there who looked as surprised as him.

You think he would yell but he was too shock to say a word. All he could think of doing was running to the telephone that was just a feet away from him which he had used enough to remember where it was but once he edged to get it, the man suddenly ran to him.

Frightened, Tenma took the phone but before he could dial, the man grabbed him, keeping arm around his mouth to keep him from making any noise and quickly dragged the helpless child.

He knew that the owner of the place was gone but he didn't think anyone was still staying here so he hadn't worn any mask. Since the kid had already seen his face, there was no way he could let him walk now.

Tenma eventually bit him, causing him yelp and loosen his and once he did, Tenma yelled and screamed and began putting up a fight.

The man had to shut him up quickly and grabbed the nearest thing he could find to stop him…

…..

Tsurugi sighed. What a day yesterday was. He grumbled as he cursed that stupid puppy. Why did it have to an accident on him? It did it on purpose! He just knew it!

He passed by Aki's apartment, wondering how he and the puppy were doing. Hopefully Tenma liked the puppy because he couldn't return that thing now and he certainly wasn't going to take care of it!

He went to ring the doorbell but he noticed something on the pavement in front of the building. Some red splotches and a chill went down his spine and he quickly ran to the door but it was wide open with more splotches, each bigger as it led inside.

He ran in to check but when he got to the kitchen…

"**TENMA!"**

…after that, he called the police. He was no expert but even then, he knew it was worthless to call an ambulance. His body was already cold. While waiting, he wondered where the puppy had gone. Maybe it had escaped?

But after the police came, they found it in Tenma's room, shaken and whining as it was confused by what was happening.

Despite everything, Tsurugi took it in his arms and strangely enough, it let him hold it. There was now no longer any reason for him stay. He asked the police to catch the monster responsible for it and left with the puppy.

They eventually did. The man was the son of the neighbor nearby. He was bum, homeless and jobless. He needed some money and went there to rob it but Tenma had caught him off guard and when he did, he grabbed the first thing could to keep him from saying a thing; a knife.

Still, it didn't make Tsurugi feel any better. Every time he thought back to that night, he wished had accepted his just that single time.

He arrived home again, dumping his stuff down on the floor after a miserable day of soccer practice. A dog, white in fur with a few patches of blue came barking over happily.

"Hey there, Tenma." He greeted, making the dog bark. After some time, he took the small puppy in and cared for it and raised it with a strange tenderness and love that many found shocking. But whenever they heard its name, they would say no more.


	4. If you said 'Yes'

"Ugh…"Tsurugi grumbled but he kept it as low as possible so that Tenma, who was playing in his room with the puppy wouldn't hear as he put on a new shirt.

"How did it escape anyway?" Tenma asked.

"How should I know? The dumb thing must faulty." He grumbled. Actually, he hadn't locked it properly and it ended escaping but if he told Tenma that, he would probably laugh at him.

"Okay, okay, Mr. Grumpy." Tenma laughed as he played tug-of-war with a towel he brought and the puppy was still trying to beat him as it tried pulling at it again only to lose its grip and fall over.

"Hah!" Tsurugi laughed. The puppy growled and ran over to Tsurugi and began barking at him again. "Oh, give it a rest will you?"

The puppy barked a little louder and Tenma sighed and picked the puppy, rubbing its stomach a little to quiet it down. It was just so relaxing, having his tummy massaged that he couldn't but fall back over and sleep which Tenma found cute.

Tsurugi threw some newspaper out in an old shoebox for it to sleep in.

As Tenma gently placed it in, he looked over at Tsurugi. "You know, if you just stop antagonizing him, maybe you two could get along."

"Tenma, it peed all over me! I will not make friends with that thing!" he said in a huff.

"Come on, Tsurugi, he's just a little puppy! They can't help themselves at this age." Tenma said.

"Are you joking? It did it on purpose." Tsurugi said, remembering how 'laughed' after it made its accident.

The soon began arguing about the puppy and before long, it was almost eleven. They were only children so they tend to argue over petty things but when they noticed, they both agreed, it was too late to go back.

Tsurugi grumbled. From a visit, it had turned into an overnight stay, with Tenma sleeping in his room because when they tried moving the puppy, it woke up, jump out of the box and made 'accidents' all over the floor which he made Tenma clean up.

He moved to fall asleep but just as he was about to, Tenma knocked on the door, irritating him more.

"What!?" he asked as he went out only to be greeted by crying Tenma and he calmed down and asked what was up.

"I see." He said. Tenma didn't even mean to see him crying. He had a terrible nightmare and he wanted milk to help him sleep but when he looked around, there wasn't any so he went to ask Tsurugi for some but he wasn't sure himself because he wasn't a fan of drinking milk.

"I'll have a look around." He said, with Tenma right behind to help him. As he looked through the cupboards, he looked back Tenma. "You said you had a nightmare. Was it about your dog?"

Tenma stopped looking and turned back him in surprise.

"How did you know about that?" he asked.

"Store owner told me." He answered. The two stayed quiet for a while as they continued looking. Tenma eventually saw a bottle covered in newspaper and opened it but there was no label or anything on it whatever was inside was white like milk.

"Tsurugi, what's this?" Tenma asked.

"A bribe for my parents from some company I think." He said. "My parents usually give it to us so you can have it."

Tenma looked at it before looking back at him. "I'm not sure…"

"Hey, do you want some or not?" Tsurugi asked and Tenma pondered for a moment before nodding. Tsurugi handed him a glass and Tenma poured it in. It really did look like milk but it was so dark and he couldn't tell.

Tsurugi saw how hesitant and wondered how he was.

"Why don't you tell me about your dream?" he asked. "It might help."

Tenma gave him a surprised looked but then he looked before starting to cry again, unnerving Tsurugi as he quickly went to soothe him.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to!" he said quickly but Tenma shook his head and wiped it away.

"No. It's fine. I just had a dream about Sasuke." He said. "We were in this tunnel and I was happy to see him but he suddenly ran off on his own. I chased after him but tunnel started closing in and-and I miss him…!"

Tenma began crying and Tsurugi, gave rare a hand to comfort him. "…it's going to be all right." He said, not knowing what else to say. It took a while but Tenma sniffled and calmed down with a smile.

"I know…" Tenma said. "It's just really hard sometimes."

Tsurugi reached for the glass and handed it over to him as if to say it was okay. Tenma smiled and nodded.

"Oh, and Tsurugi," Tenma said. "Thank you."

Tsurugi just looked away told him drink his milk. When did he become such a parent?

* * *

*riiing!*

*riiiiiiiing!*

*beep!*

"Hello?" the man asked.

_"Uh, hey, dad!"_

"Kyousuke? It's good to hear from-" he said but Tsurugi quickly cut him off.

_"Yeah, yeah! Um, do you know the Buraindokome Tengoku Company?"_

"Yeah, they're a company brewery who make sake." he answered his son. "They want to advertise their drinks by arranging a blind tasting party with some companies to help sponsor for them. They invited me several times. Why?"

_"Sake? What sort of sake exactly?"_ Tsurugi asked in a panicked tone, ignoring his father's previous question.

"Nigori sake. Again, why are you as-" But Tsurugi hung up quickly.

"Tsu..*hic!* rgi...what*hic!**hic!* was..." Tenma asked groggily but Tsurugi quickly picked him up and brought him upstairs.

"Tainted milk." he answered. "Now go sleep it off."

"O*hic!*ka*hic!*" Tenma moaned. The next day, the two would return to Aki's house to find that the place had been robbed. Luckily, the man was caught and Tenma thanked Tsurugi over and over, convinced he had saved when he didn't do a thing, to make matters worse, as his way of saying thanks for it...

"Sit, Tsurugi! Good, boy!" Tenma said.

"Change that thing's name!"


End file.
